2006 Winners

Best of ShowWii
(Nintendo)It's a good thing
Nintendo got the name change of its next console out of the way before E3. With
the shock of that announcement mostly over, the company proceeded to become the
talk of the show (and possibly a fire hazard for the LA Convention Center) by
inviting audiences to get their hands on an impressive lineup of fun and
interesting software for the Wii...not to mention that wild controller. People
practically
stampeded to try it out--either that or they waited in line for hours. Yet most
of them seemingly still came away more excited than ever by Nintendo's weird,
inspired vision for how gaming could be different.

Some important questions
remain about how the Wii will finally turn out, but by giving E3 show-goers a
taste of what playing games on the Wii will be like, Nintendo seemed to gather
much more momentum for the system's launch later this year. So despite how many
great-looking games were on display at this year's show, the Wii stood out as
the single most exciting and remarkable new product at E3 2006.

-Greg Kasavin, Executive Editor, GameSpot

Best Original
GameSpore(Maxis/Electronic Arts for PC)With Spore, storied
game designer Will Wright is taking “god” games to the Nth power, creating an
original game that we expect will devour many hours peeling back its many
layers. Wright didn’t stop with his ingenious game parameters that let you
nurture your characters from amoebas into interstellar explorers. He takes the
game online in a stealth mode that uploads other players' creations so that we
can explore the strange new worlds and new civilizations that they create –
without the hassle of actually dealing with them. As the guys on the TV ads for
Guinness beer say, “Brilliant!”

- Mike Snider, USA Today

Best
Hardware/PeripheralWii
(Nintendo)
Set aside your potty humor for a sec (Nintendo's Wii wins "Best Hardware"? Too
easy...) — this console's legit! While its competitors are improving (bigger,
better, prettier) on what's already out there, Nintendo is moving the game
console experience in a different direction altogether. The Wii — with its funky
motion-sensing and sound-emitting controller, always-online awareness, and
retro-friendly virtual console — promises new, totally fresh gameplay
experiences that will appeal to the young and old, hardcore and casual, and even
the "cool kids" who won't mind looking like idiots while frantically waving a
piece of plastic in the air. Can one machine really do and be all that? The
three-hour lines to see Nintendo's Wii at E3 seem to indicate, "Hell yes."

-- Dan "Shoe" Hsu, Editor in
Chief, Electronic Gaming Monthly

Best Console
GameGears of War
(Epic Games / Microsoft Games Studio for Xbox 360)The hype machine's been in motion for a
full year on this title, but it took an E3 hands-on multiplayer demo to prove
that Gears of War packs as much substance as style. The demo had players take up
arms as either the Coalition of Ordered Government (COG) forces or the nasty,
subterranean race known as the Locusts. A few of the many features that set GOW
ahead of the action pack include a context sensitive cover system for ducking
and crouching with the tap of the A button, and an atmospheric, jittery 3rd
person camera. In short, a great-looking, unique and fun as hell game sure to be
blowing up the Live servers come Q4. Oh, and that chainsaw bayonet? A thing of
beauty.

-- Alex Porter, Senior
Editor/Producer, MTV Digital

Best PC GameSpore(Maxis/Electronic Arts for PC)When Spore won Best PC Game last year, it
was at least partly a vote of faith. With not much gameplay to go on yet, the
Game Critics judge were nevertheless blown away by Will Wright's audaciously
ambitious game design, which finds you evolving from single-celled organism to
interplanetary space traveler. At this year's E3, Spore was much more "real"--
and, guess what? It wins again. Once again, no PC game at the show came close to
matching Spore's originality, scope, and breadth of design. As Will Wright
personally demo'ed the game--creating a creature, spawning, forming a society,
building a city, venturing into space and beyond--you could hear audible gasps
from the packed theater, as it became more and more clear that what was once
just a cool idea is fast becoming an even cooler reality. Spore was *the* event
for PC gamers this E3, and thus an easy call for Best PC Game.

- Jeff Green, Editor in Chief, Computer Gaming
World

Best Handheld GameThe Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
(Nintendo for Nintendo DS)
The Legend of Zelda franchise is pure gaming gold, and who better than Nintendo
knows how to buff up its 24-carat richness. Anybody doubt that Phantom Hourglass
would shine for DS? Amid stiff and deserving competition from Nintendo's own DS
product line this game cast out all the proper hooks with a rich storyline,
impressive cel-shaded graphics goodness, and innovative touchscreen gameplay to
haul in E3 honors. Phantom Hourglass will pick up where the GameCube’s Wind
Waker left off, and nothing could be finer for Zelda fans. Despite the obvious
difference in processing power the graphics were spot on, but creative
touchscreen action is what will make Phantom Hourglass shine. Frankly, as far as
E3 demos went, this version even matched up well against Twilight Princess for
the Wii.

-- Wes Nihei, Editor, GamePro

Best Action
GameGears of War
(Epic Games / Microsoft Games Studio for Xbox 360)Who knows what it is about certain games.
Is it how they look? Maybe. Is it how they play? That’s a lot of it. Is it the
talent behind the project? Possibly. But there’s no doubt about it, some games
just manage to magically capture the gamers’ imagination like no others. It’s
what we like to call the “it” factor. Halo has “it.” Metal Gear Solid has “it,”
and no one can deny Gears of War its rightful place as the “it” game of E3 2006.
From the game’s mysterious dilapidated sci-fi aesthetic to its arrestingly
intense spin on futuristic shooter gameplay, Gears gives us that twinge in our
bellies – that twinge we got when we first stumbled on the Flood in Halo,
discovered a secret cave in Zelda or carjacked our first sedan in Grand Theft
Auto. It's a rare game that accomplishes this feat in such early form, and for
this reason, Gears of War deserves every bit of the attention it's receiving.

-- Francesca Reyes, Editor in
Chief, Official Xbox Magazine

Best
Action/Adventure GameAssassin's Creed
(Ubisoft Montreal / UbiSoft for PlayStation 3)Few games at this year’s E3 screamed
“next generation” more than Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed. From the first glimpse
of its big gorgeous graphics (the screen shots are true in-game, not “target”)
through its Prince of Persia-meets-Thief gameplay, Assassin’s Creed provides an
excellent taste of what the PS3 can and will deliver. Ubisoft’s A-team – the
Montreal Studio – is creating Assassin’s Creed like the blockbuster it wants to
be: an epic Crusades setting with a super-acrobatic hero in an intriguing
storyline that has some surprising twists yet to be revealed.

The character design, both main and NPC, is noteworthy. Ubi Montreal has always
brought a deep sense of gravity to their main characters (when climbing, jumping
and fighting, there’s a real-world “weight”) and our assassin is no different as
he traverses buildings and leaps from rooftop to rooftop with believable effort.
Ubi is upping the NPC role by making them reactive. When our hero runs through
crowds, he has to do it quietly and carefully; too much bumping can upset the
wrong people, people who’ll turn on him and slow him down – or worse.

- Tom Byron, Editor in Chief,
Official PlayStation Magazine

Best Role
Playing GameMass Effect
(Bioware / Microsoft Games Studio for Xbox 360)With
no less than three previous titles winning this very category (Baldur's Gate in
1998, Neverwinter Nights in 2000-2002, and Jade Empire in 2004), veteran RPG
developer BioWare is at it again in 2006. This year they wowed RPG fans at E3
with Mass Effect, the first in an already-announced trilogy of sci-fi RPGs.

With a deep storyline, incredibly detailed environments, full character
customization, and branching conversations that have a profound impact on
gameplay, BioWare isn't straying too far from the formula that has made them RPG
champions in the past. However, what they are doing differently is refining all
of these elements to create what looks to be one of the most elegant and
well-designed RPGs we've ever seen.

BioWare is throwing a few new bits into the mix, such as real-time squad-based
combat with a tinge of RTS styling as well as creating a world where realistic
facial animations and eye movements are important gameplay elements, even if the
alien denizens are all digital. Expect a return of the ethical choices that we
saw in Knights of the Old Republic and Jade Empire as well, only this time it's
not just on a personal level -- it extends to your squad mates, who may leave
your party depending on where your morality meter swings.

From what we saw at E3, Mass Effect promises to be more open-ended and in-depth
than any BioWare RPG to date, and that's saying a lot.

-- Talmadge Blevins, Editorial Director, IGN.com

Best Racing
GameExcite Truck
(Monster Games / Nintendo for Wii)Nintendo and Monster Games have traded in
dirt bikes for off-road trucks in their first arcade flavored racer for the Wii.
As Nintendo strives to get everyone into playing their games, both the hardcore
and casual gaming set can easily adapt to Excite Truck's control scheme.
Subtracting the nunchuck, everything is easily controlled using the Wii remote's
tilt functionality.

While visually not the most stunning game speeding to Nintendo's new console,
Excite Truck is all about addictive fast-paced racing, dynamically changing
landscapes, turbo boosting, huge air, and colossal crashes - Yosemite Sam mud
flaps not included.

-- Billy Berghammer, Managing Editor, Game Informer
Online

Best
Simulation GameSpore
(Maxis/Electronic Arts for PC)It’s just not fair. The other nominees in
this category didn’t stand a chance against the most ambitious sim ever
conceived. We refer to some games as virtual worlds - Spore makes that term seem
hopelessly inadequate. Will Wright and his team at Maxis are creating a virtual
universe that’s absolutely staggering in its scope. This year we got to see it
in a lot more detail, and we got a much better sense of how it, like the Sims
and Sim City before it, employs simple rules and procedures and intuitive tools
and interfaces to create an amazing diversity of emergent play experiences.

Spore is shaping up to be a game that you could literally spend a whole lifetime
exploring. Intelligent Design is a reality…at Maxis, anyway.

--Chris Baker, Wired Magazine

Best Sports
GameWii Sports
(Nintendo for Wii)
If there was a game at E3 that truly demonstrated Nintendo's vision for its new
console, it was Wii sports. Simply put, it's a new way to play sports at home –
Wii Sports is quick to pick up, super intuitive, and can be enjoyed by anyone.
Making use of the Wii remote (and only the Wii remote), Wii Sports encompasses
three sports favorites – tennis, golf, and baseball – and for each, it's all
about waving the remote to interact with the game. You actually swing the remote
to hit a ball...

What could be more natural? It's, like, actually playing sports but without the
potential for [serious] bodily injury. Wii is really well suited for simple
games, and at E3, this is where Wii was at its best.

- Sam
Kennedy, Editor in Chief, 1UP.com

Best Fighting
GameHeavenly Sword
(Ninja Theory / Sony for PlayStation 3)I was so
taken aback by Heavenly Sword that I declared this supercharged
action-adventure-fighting game my best in show immediately following the demo.
More than just a pretty face, Heavenly Sword features a rich storyline told via
first rate voice talent, along with a mixture of intense, diverse combat and
adventure. Beyond its amazingly detailed and animated leading lady -- whom at
this moment I believe to be the ultimate female video game heroine ever created
-- the choreography of the arena fighting battle on display at E3 was beyond
anything I’ve ever seen. It's like God of War fused with Hong-Kong cinema. And
the depth, lighting, and all around character model integrity sets a new
standard for real-time visuals.

-- Dave Halverson, PLAY Magazine

Best Strategy
GameSupreme Commander
(Gas Powered Games/THQ for PC)Chris Taylor enjoys his role as the
comedian of the game industry. But underneath that facade is a hardcore
real-time strategy gamer. With Supreme Commander for THQ, Taylor's Gas Powered
Games is out to show that the RTS genre still has much to offer gamers. The
vision for Supreme Commander is to create a game that has the scale and scope
for huge battles fought by vast armies with futuristic weaponry.

- Dean Takahashi, San Jose Mercury News

Best
Puzzle/Trivia/Parlor GameGuitar Hero 2
(Harmonix / Red Octane for PlayStation 2)Six
months before the Wii stunned E3 audiences, Guitar Hero proved a well-designed
game with a custom controller working [bad pun alert] in concert could
instrumentally change things for the better. And like a great rock show, casual
observers and hardcore enthusiasts were left wanting more.

The
promise of 55 new songs for Guitar Hero 2, and new co-op modes featuring rhythm
and bass guitar, all but guarantee more fan-trampling anticipation in our rush
to get our hands on this sequel. The working multiplayer version of Van Halen's
"You Really Got Me" on the show floor was, in retrospect, an early indicator for
judges' votes in this category.

-- Tom Russo, Editorial Director, G4

Best Online
MultiplayerEnemy Territory: Quake Wars
(Splash Damage/id/Activision for PC)
Initially released in 2003 as a free, standalone download, Wolfenstein: Enemy
Territory was a highly compelling, top-tier multiplayer modification. Now, Enemy
Territory: Quake Wars takes all the juicy bits from the first game – tight,
objective-based maps, well-balanced classes, multi-mission campaigns,
performance upgrades through experience – and adds the joys of vehicular combat,
two distinct warring factions, Quake's futuristic setting, and the ability to
drop assets directly onto the battlefield. And powered by an improved Quake IV
engine, it's a phenomenal visual treat. Easy to jump into, but extremely deep,
Quake Wars was a massive hit on the E3 show floor and promises to be just as
successful when the war begins online later this year.

- Richard Greenhill, Editor in Chief, Yahoo!
Videogames

The Game Critics Awards are not associated with or endorsed by the ESA, IDG
or E3 Management